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Family Care Navigator

General Information & Assistance

Benefits.gov (formerly GovBenefits.gov) was launched in an effort to provide citizens with easy, online access to government benefit and assistance programs. Eight years after its initial launch, GovBenefits.gov underwent a major redesign and became Benefits.gov. However, the program's mission remains the same: reduce the expense and difficulty of interacting with the government while increasing citizen access to government benefit information.

Benefits.gov is unable to respond to specific scenarios or provide personalized advice. A number of Other Resources and Frequently Asked Questions are available to help answer any questions you may have about government programs, benefits, and services.

For additional government information, you may call USA.gov's National Contact Center at 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, to speak to an information specialist.

Government agency responsible for development, implementation and monitoring of a comprehensive system of community-based programs and services for seniors. Provides online program and services information about:
- Adult day programs
- Long term care
- In-home care
- Direct Care Workers
- Transportation
- Government benefits for Seniors

ADRC provides information and access to aging and disability support and services including:&#13;
- Information and Assistance&#13;
- Care Management&#13;
- Nutrition Services (i.e., Meals on Wheels)&#13;
- Legal Assistance&#13;
- Services for family caregivers through the Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP)

Care Recipient Eligibility:

Adults age 65 and older, persons of all ages with development disabilities and persons 18 and older with functional disabilities

Services & Policies for Family Caregivers

The DMV is required to investigate the self-reported conditions, reports received from law enforcement, and medical professionals. Drivers are then required to provide adequate documentation from their primary physician to obtain or renew their license.

License renewal occurs every 5 years. Older adults (age 68+) must apply for license renewal every 2 years.

Miscellaneous Statewide Programs, Regulations and Legislation

* The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act enables family caregivers to provide safe and effective home care to older adults. In particular, it supports family caregivers when their loved ones are admitted to the hospital, and helps them to learn how to safely provide care at home once their loved ones are discharged from a medical facility.

While the finer points of the CARE Act vary from state to state, it contains three central provisions in every version nationwide:

The name of the family caregiver is recorded when a loved one is admitted into a hospital or rehabilitation facility.

The family caregiver is notified if the loved one is to be discharged to another facility or back home.

The hospital or rehabilitation facility must provide an explanation and live instruction of the medical tasks—such as medication management, injections, wound care, and transfers—that the family caregiver will perform at home.

HopeHealth is a non-profit organization serving thousands of people each year in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The caregivers support patients and their families through all stages of illness, providing hospice care, palliative care, home care, and dementia and Alzheimer’s support services.

Two PACE programs in Rhode Island coordinate and provide the entire continuum of care and services to their older enrollees with chronic care needs to enable them to continue living safely in the community as long as possible. Care and services include:
- Adult day health care
- Medical care
- Home health care and personal care
- All necessary prescription drugs
- Social services
- Respite care
- Hospital and nursing home care when necessary

Care Recipient Eligibility:

Multiple requirements:
- Adults age 55 or older
- Certified or certifiable for placement in a nursing facility
- Live within a site's service area and able to live safely in the community at time of enrollment
* If not eligible for Medicare and/or Medicaid, private payment is accepted
*Space is limited

Rewarding Work, a nonprofit company, provides a web-based resource to help older adults and people with disabilities hire personal care assistants (PCAs) and direct care workers. Also provides a free resource for workers who are interested to find jobs as PCAs. Rewarding Work presently operates in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Vermont.

ADRC provides information and access to aging and disability support and services including:&#13;
- Information and Assistance&#13;
- Care Management&#13;
- Nutrition Services (i.e., Meals on Wheels)&#13;
- Legal Assistance&#13;
- Services for family caregivers through the Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP)

Care Recipient Eligibility:

Adults age 65 and older, persons of all ages with development disabilities and persons 18 and older with functional disabilities

Resources on Living Arrangements for Care Recipients

HopeHealth is a non-profit organization serving thousands of people each year in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The caregivers support patients and their families through all stages of illness, providing hospice care, palliative care, home care, and dementia and Alzheimer’s support services.

ADRC provides information and access to aging and disability support and services including:&#13;
- Information and Assistance&#13;
- Care Management&#13;
- Nutrition Services (i.e., Meals on Wheels)&#13;
- Legal Assistance&#13;
- Services for family caregivers through the Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP)

Care Recipient Eligibility:

Adults age 65 and older, persons of all ages with development disabilities and persons 18 and older with functional disabilities

Government Health & Disability Programs

Provides Rhode Island's aged or disabled veterans with rehabilitative, residential and medical care and services. Also helps veterans and their families to present claims for veterans' benefits to the federal government.

ADRC provides information and access to aging and disability support and services including:&#13;
- Information and Assistance&#13;
- Care Management&#13;
- Nutrition Services (i.e., Meals on Wheels)&#13;
- Legal Assistance&#13;
- Services for family caregivers through the Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP)

Care Recipient Eligibility:

Adults age 65 and older, persons of all ages with development disabilities and persons 18 and older with functional disabilities

Ombudsmen investigate complaints made by, or on behalf of, individual residents in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, residential care facilities for the elderly, and assisted living facilities. They also answer questions about the quality of care or financial, physical, or mental abuse in residential facilities.

ADRC provides information and access to aging and disability support and services including:&#13;
- Information and Assistance&#13;
- Care Management&#13;
- Nutrition Services (i.e., Meals on Wheels)&#13;
- Legal Assistance&#13;
- Services for family caregivers through the Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP)

Care Recipient Eligibility:

Adults age 65 and older, persons of all ages with development disabilities and persons 18 and older with functional disabilities

Caregiver Compensation

Rhode Island's Global Waiver is a Medicaid waiver that assists seniors to remain living at home or within the community. This program allows certain family members to be hired and paid as the personal care provider.